CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40 ORDERS ISSUED

Chen Gu couldn’t be bothered to say much to this little brat who knew nothing, struck a starting pose, and suddenly threw a punch.

Standing opposite Chen Gu, Zhao Junzhi suddenly felt as if he were standing in front of a collapsing mountain!

The punch was like an exploding landslide, as swift as lightning. Zhao Junzhi hadn’t even had time to react before the punch had already heavily struck his chest.

His chest guard visibly caved in, and then Zhao Junzhi was sent flying, crashing into his group of cronies three meters away; immediately, there were screams of pain as all the cronies were knocked down.

As Zhao Junzhi fell to the ground, his eyes glazed over, immobile, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

The physical arts instructor for the fourth class turned pale with shock and screamed, "You’ve killed someone—"

Chen Gu remained calm and composed, while Liu Shichan frowned in disgust, "With today’s medical technology, injuries like these won’t kill."

You’re a grown man, even a physical arts instructor, acting like a sissy. Trash like you wouldn’t last half a minute out in the world before getting killed.

The school doctor rushed over and quickly took Zhao Junzhi to the hospital. His cronies glared at Chen Gu with malice, "You’re dead meat! Do you know Uncle Zhao will... anyway, just wait to be messed up in prison!"

Chen Gu put on an extremely horrified expression, trembling uncontrollably as he asked in a lost voice, "Really? Is my life... over?"

The cronies’ arrogance intensified, ready to continue their threats, when Chen Gu suddenly burst into laughter and turned to Darkray, "How’s my acting?"

Darkray, truly like a top-tier comic sidekick, exclaimed, "The Best Actor of Lubei!"

"Hahaha..."

The cronies walked away, teeth clenched with rage, but Chen Gu couldn’t bask in his triumph for long before he saw Liu Shichan approaching.

Suddenly, Chen Gu’s legs went weak, and Darkray and Mao Yisheng hurriedly stepped forward to support him. Chen Gu’s body was limp like noodles, held up by the two military students to avoid slipping to the ground. He spoke feebly, "That move just now... it was so draining. I’m so hungry, I need to replenish..."

"Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll take you to Xianwei Residence."

Liu Shichan was dumbfounded. In such a situation, as a key figure of the Phoenix Gang and the second-in-command of the Lubei ruffians, she couldn’t possibly ignore the underworld code and attack Chen Gu now, could she? His way of avoiding the fight was perfectly reasonable.

Chen Gu was escorted away, feeling exceedingly proud inside. What is acting? This is acting!

He wasn’t actually afraid of Liu Shichan; it was just that after their last battle, he felt somewhat guilty facing her again.

It took only about ten or twenty minutes for Chen Gu and his group to leave the school and arrive at Xianwei Residence, when suddenly a series of police sirens sounded outside the restaurant.

Chen Gu looked out the window to see two police cars had arrived and blocked the entrance.

Darkray was indignant, "These parasites, these scum, living off taxpayers’ money, doing the dirty work for the privileged!"

Chen Gu, who had already started eating, casually commented, "Nice brownnosing."

...

Zhao Zhenhuai was furious when he got the message.

His son had just left the hospital a few days ago and was again severely injured by that little bastard. This time the injuries were even more severe, requiring several months for a full recovery.

"Dad! Dad! I want to kill him..." On the phone, his son, who had just regained consciousness, weakly cried and cursed to him.

Zhao Zhenhuai felt immense heartache. "You just focus on healing. Leave these matters to me. This time, we’ll settle the new grudges and old scores together. I will make sure he rots in jail!"

Zhao Zhenhuai hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He instructed his aide, "Get me the director of the Seventh Bureau..."

Suddenly, a guard outside reported, "Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson is here."

Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was a man of a certain major general, the very major general who was Zhao Zhenhuai’s backing. It was with the major general’s strong support that Zhao Zhenhuai was able to retire and transition to the civilian sector as planned.

Zhao Zhenhuai did not dare to neglect him; since the kid couldn’t escape anyway, he said, "Please let him in quickly."

Lieutenant Colonel Anderson strode in with his military cap under his arm and announced loudly, "Colonel Zhao Zhenhuai, I’m here on behalf of the Central Operations Room to inform you that you have been appointed as the deputy director of the newly established 745 Research Institute. Please hand over your military duties immediately and report to Capital Star at once!"

Right after that, Anderson displayed the military order of reassignment.

Zhao Zhenhuai was dumbfounded. What on earth was the 745 Research Institute? Wasn’t he supposed to retire and take over as the top police official in Wuzhaoyin City?

Just a colonel, going to Capital Star only to be some obscure deputy director of a research institute... That counted for nothing. Who would take him seriously from now on?

"Anderson..." Zhao Zhenhuai wanted to ask for clarification, but Anderson, fearing he might say something detrimental to the major general, interrupted him, "This is a direct order from the Central Operations Room, Colonel Zhao Zhenhuai. Carry out the order."

The aide behind Zhao Zhenhuai, too, stood there with his mouth agape. How could things have turned out this way? According to the original plan, he would have been at least a deputy director in a cushy position, but now... deputy director of a numbered research institute? Just from that number, one could tell how many such institutes there were throughout the Confederation! What was the point of being a deputy?

Zhao Zhenhuai opened his mouth but could only suppress the plethora of questions and rage within him and inquired, "What exactly does this 745 Research Institute do?"

"Sorry, it’s a high-level military secret; we have no idea."

He emphasized the word "we," hinting that the major general also had no clue about the inside story.

Zhao Zhenhuai despaired and slowly sank into his seat, appearing to have aged ten years in an instant. The only voice in his head kept incessantly questioning: How could this have happened? How could this have happened?

Anderson looked sympathetically at Zhao Zhenhuai. As the major general’s confidant, he knew that Zhao Zhenhuai had spent millions of Starshields for his post-retirement plans, money that couldn’t possibly be refunded to him.

"Get to Capital Star and report in as soon as possible," Anderson said. "You only have three days to report, and any delays could lead to a military tribunal."

...

Chen Jixian was resting in the barracks while his aide handled some paperwork in the office outside. Suddenly, the sound of heavy military vehicles arriving and departing caught their attention.

The aide stepped out for a look and returned with a puzzled expression, "Colonel, the missiles we requested have arrived."

Chen Jixian’s eyelids remained firmly in place, not out of composure, but because he was also baffled. Why had they suddenly arrived when the supply department had previously been intentionally delaying?

The aide’s phone suddenly rang. After speaking a few words, his expression turned to one of surprise as he kept agreeing.

Before he even finished the first call, another came in. He hurriedly ended the previous call and quickly answered the new one, growing even more astonished after a couple of sentences.

After the aide finished, he somewhat stutteringly reported to Chen Jixian, "The Fourth and Seventh Battalions both expressed their willingness to cooperate with your previous plan for a joint sweep. They have already applied independently for the ammunition required for the operation.

"Moreover, their commanders will personally call you to discuss the operational plan, expressing their desire to help you make your last battle before retirement a splendid one..."

The aide felt an intense, gnawing curiosity. There had to be some secret he wasn’t privy to; otherwise, those fence-sitters wouldn’t have suddenly changed their attitudes so drastically.

"Colonel," the aide sidled up and whispered, making a face, "Did you... pull some strings?"

"No."

About fifteen minutes later, the news finally reached the somewhat slow-to-react Chen Jixian: Zhao Zhenhuai had suddenly been transferred to some research institute, and someone had to fill the director position that was prepared for him. As it happened, Chen Jixian, who was simultaneously retiring, ended up with the role.